"Hurt: Chronicles of the Drug War Generation weaves engaging first-person accounts of the lives of baby boomer drug users, including the author Miriam Boeri's own knowledge as the sister of a heroin addict. The compelling stories are set in historical context, from the cultural influence of sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll to contemporary discourse that pegs drug addiction as a disease punished by incarceration. Boeri writes with penetrating insight and conscientious attention to the intersectionality of race, gender, and class as she analyzes the impact of an increasingly punitive War on Drugs on a hurting generation"--Provided by publisher
"Hurt: Chronicles of the Drug War Generation weaves engaging first-person accounts of the lives of baby boomer drug users, including the author Miriam Boeri's own knowledge as the sister of a heroin addict. The compelling stories are set in historical context, from the cultural influence of sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll to contemporary discourse that pegs drug addiction as a disease punished by incarceration. Boeri writes with penetrating insight and conscientious attention to the intersectionality of race, gender, and class as she analyzes the impact of an increasingly punitive War on Drugs on a hurting generation"--Provided by publisher
Frontmatter -- Contents -- Figures And Tables -- Preface -- Acknowledgments -- 1. Methamphetamine: The Perfect Drug For Suburban Women -- 2. Ethnographic Research: Exploring Methamphetamine Use In The Suburbs -- 3. The Gendered Drug Career: Initiation And Progression In Methamphetamine Use -- 4.Gendered Lives: Combining Work And Family With Drug-Using Roles -- 5. Gendered Risks: Health And Infectious Diseases -- 6. Gendered Risks: Violence And Crime -- 7. The Revolving Door: Treatment, Recovery, And Relapse -- 8. Policy Implications -- Appendix A. Methodological Process -- Appendix B. The Drug Career Typology -- References -- Index -- About The Author
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In an article in this journal, Rhineberger, Hartmann, and Van Valey (2005), discussed the mixed methods approach known as triangulation, arguing that the meaning and uses of triangulation need to be consistently applied and more adequately described in published articles. The authors presented two models of triangulation found in their extensive literature review. In this paper, I review triangulation designs used in applied research and propose a third and distinct model called the "iterative model." This model employs triangulation to gain increasing clarity and understanding of the complex issues involved in applied social research. Clearly defined and collectively understood models of triangulation help applied researchers better integrate triangulated sources and convey their methods across disciplinary boundaries.
As evidence of a failing war on drugs mounts and a deadly opioid crisis continues, U.S. drug policy is slowly changing to less punitive responses to drug use. Collaborations between treatment programs and law enforcement gained praise from politicians, but concerns regarding the impact of increased surveillance and the rising culture of control call for greater focus on these governing relationships. Framed within an abolitionist perspective, and incorporating insights from successful models of decriminalization in Portugal and deinstitutionalization in Italy, our analysis of in-depth interviews with 117 people who are actively using opioids seeks to understand their perspectives on treatment drawing on lived experiences. Findings reveal a need for a paradigm shift in drug policy as well as treatment practices and increased access to targeted social resources in the community. An application of penal abolition policy requires decriminalizing (or legalizing) drug use and creating commissions composed of community members, peers, and professionals disconnected from the criminal justice system.
We propose that female methamphetamine users who live in suburbia experience risks for disease transmission stemming from their social environment that remain under the radar of public health surveillance networks. The data analyzed in this article were collected from 2007 to 2011 and were drawn from two sequential studies on methamphetamine use. The studies were conducted in the suburbs of a southeastern U.S. metropolis. We analyzed a total of 65 qualitative interviews with former and active methamphetamine-using women. Data from focus groups also were included in the analysis. The participants' ages ranged from 18 to 51 years. We identified three major themes with regard to risk behaviors and transmission of infectious diseases: (1) setting risk behaviors such as sharing syringes and homelessness, lack of transportation, and unemployment; (2) sexual risk behaviors such as condom use and having multiple partners; and (3) service-related risks such as risk awareness and prevention behaviors as well as utilization of social services and health care. Our findings point to the pervasive nature of social influences on the risk for infectious disease transmission. We suggest that harm-reduction programs (HRPs) be implemented in suburban communities to increase access to these services. Second, our data support the concept of social recovery for drug users to better their health and social lives holistically.
Life course perspectives focus on the variation in trajectories, generally to identify differences in variation dynamics and classify trajectories accordingly. Our goal here is to develop methods to gauge the discontinuity characteristics trajectories exhibit and demonstrate how these measures facilitate analyses aimed to evaluate, compare, aggregate, and classify behaviors based on the event discontinuity they manifest. We restrict ourselves here to binary event sequences, providing directions for extending the methods in future research. We illustrate our techniques to data on older drug users. It should be noted though that the application of these techniques is not restricted to drug use, but can be applied to a wide range of trajectory types. We suggest that the innovative measures of discontinuity presented can be further developed to provide additional analytical tools in social science research and in future applications. Our novel discontinuity measure visualizations have the potential to be valuable assessment strategies for interventions, prevention efforts, and other social services utilizing life course data.
To examine access to needed resources among low-income methamphetamine-using females, we conducted interviews with 30 women living in poor suburban communities of a large southeastern metropolis. As an invisible population in the suburbs, underserved by social services, the women remain geographically and socially anchored to their poor suburban enclaves as transit, treatment, and education remain out of reach. The longitudinal study included three interviews over a two-year period. Resources needed by the women were identified in the first interview and a list of available services was provided to them. In subsequent interviews, we asked how they accessed the services or barriers encountered and discussed these further in focus groups. Using a social capital framework in our qualitative analysis, we identified three processes for accessing needed resources: formal, informal, and mediated. Implications for policymakers and social service providers are suggested, and models for future development proposed.
Recent epidemiological data show that older adults comprise a growing age group of drug users and new AIDS cases in the United States. Prevention and intervention studies show that risk behaviors leading to HIV infection are increasing among older users, particularly among the socially vulnerable. Yet older adults remain an underresearched population of drug users and little is known about their risk behaviors. Our aim is to address this gap in knowledge on older users by comparing contextual factors that influence risk behaviors and harm reduction strategies practiced by older drug users living in different communities. This study is based on ethnographic fieldwork in suburban and inner-city neighborhoods in a large metropolitan area in the southeastern United States. Interviewers conducted face-to-face, in-depth, life history interviews with 69 older adults (ages 45 and older) who used heroin, cocaine, and/or methamphetamine. Findings show that while risk behaviors were similar among older adult drug users living in suburban and inner-city environments, the provision of harm reduction education and paraphernalia varied widely. The results show the need for the expansion of harm reduction services focused on older adult drug users who are homeless, uninsured, or socially isolated. This application-oriented research will inform health care and treatment providers and generate new directions for future collaborative harm reduction services aimed to decrease the spread of HIV and other infectious diseases associated with drug use.
Social control and self‐control theories have influenced social research and public policy regarding drug use and abuse. While some researchers propose an integration of these theories, others argue that these theories are incompatible. Earlier models of drug use phases indicate that social environment affects self‐control, which contradicts the assumption made in self‐control theory that self‐control is stable over time. In this article we used life course and grounded theory methods to analyze the in‐depth life histories of 65 active heroin or methamphetamine users who are part of the cohort known as baby boomers. Interviews with drug users having a long history of drug use allow us to examine drug patterns over the life course. Based on social roles and control over drug use, we developed a four‐phase typology comprised of controlled users, marginal users, hustlers, and junkies that accounts for the variation found in our sample of baby boomer drug users. The study participants' identity and self‐concept are employed as descriptive illustrative themes. The typology presented here can assist in evaluat‐ing drug users for treatment, as well as developing public health interventions and policymaking.
In this paper, we explore settings of ecstasy use other than those that are part of the rave scene. Little is known about its use in other settings. Data from young adult (18–25 years old) active ecstasy users were collected using surveys (N = 158) and qualitative in-depth interviews (N = 66). Recruitment involved targeted and theoretical sampling. Data analysis was guided by the constant comparison method, common in grounded theory. Our findings indicate that ecstasy use has extended to social settings beyond raves, including dance/music venues, bars in inner-city neighborhoods, neighborhood cruising sites, and private residences. Users may attend multiple settings, and it is common for use practices to be transmitted across settings. An understanding of emerging social settings of ecstasy use and the associated use patterns provides baseline information for the development of effective and appropriate prevention and intervention programs, including drug treatment, as well as for policy makers.
The main objective of this paper is to explore poly-drug use among young adult ecstasy users. This phenomenon of using multiple substances within a specific time period is multi-faceted. In this paper, we focus on the various patterns of poly-drug use and the reasons for combining multiple drugs among ecstasy users. Using a mixed-methods design, we conducted interviews with young adults who used ecstasy and other licit and illicit drugs in the past 90 days. Based on the qualitative analyses, we define three distinct types of poly-drug experiences: separate, synergistic, and indiscriminate use. While separate and synergistic poly-drug use tended to be intentional, indiscriminate poly-drug use often was unintentional. These findings show the importance of recognizing poly-drug use as a common phenomenon. The findings presented here suggest areas for further research aimed at identifying risk and protective behaviors and risk reduction strategies.
While states are implementing policies to legalize cannabis for medical or recreational purposes, it remains a Schedule 1 controlled substance with no medical uses according to U.S. federal law. The perception of cannabis depends on social and cultural norms that impact political institutions involved in implementing policy. Because of negative social constructions, such as the "gateway hypothesis," legalization of cannabis has been slow and contentious. Recent studies suggest that cannabis can help combat the opioid epidemic. This article fills a gap in our understanding of how cannabis is viewed by people who are actively misusing opioids and not in treatment. Using ethnographic methods to recruit participants living in a state that legalized cannabis and a state where cannabis was illegal, survey and interview data were analyzed informed by a social constructionist lens. Findings from their "insider perspective" suggest that for some people struggling with problematic opioid use, cannabis can be beneficial.
